U.S. patent application number 11/675199 was filed with the patent office on 2007-08-23 for safe warn building system and method.
This patent application is currently assigned to LEAR CORPORATION. Invention is credited to H. Winston Maue, John F. Nathan.
Application Number | 20070194922 11/675199 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38427606 |
Filed Date | 2007-08-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070194922 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nathan; John F. ; et
al. |
August 23, 2007 |
SAFE WARN BUILDING SYSTEM AND METHOD
Abstract
A method and system for building safe warn. The building safe
warn generally related to warning or otherwise alerting building
occupants to hazards or other conditions in the building. The
warnings may be generated as a function of occupant positioning
with the building and/or the location of a hazard so as to
facilitate safely evacuating the occupants from the building. The
location of the occupants may be reported to emergency response
entities to facilitate occupant discovery and rescue.
Inventors: |
Nathan; John F.; (Highland,
MI) ; Maue; H. Winston; (Northville, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BROOKS KUSHMAN P.C. / LEAR CORPORATION
1000 TOWN CENTER, TWENTY-SECOND FLOOR
SOUTHFIELD
MI
48075-1238
US
|
Assignee: |
LEAR CORPORATION
Southfield
MI
|
Family ID: |
38427606 |
Appl. No.: |
11/675199 |
Filed: |
February 15, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60774815 |
Feb 17, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/572.1 ;
340/573.1; 340/8.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A62B 99/00 20130101;
G08B 7/066 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
340/572.1 ;
340/573.1; 340/825.49 |
International
Class: |
G08B 13/14 20060101
G08B013/14; G08B 23/00 20060101 G08B023/00; G08B 5/22 20060101
G08B005/22 |
Claims
1. A method of alerting building occupants within a building to
hazards, the method comprising: locating a hazard within the
building as function of signals received from one or more sensors
within the building; locating one or more building occupants as a
function of wireless signal communications with RF tags carried on
the building occupants; and alerting the occupants to the hazard as
a function of a location of the occupants relative to the
hazard.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising alerting occupants at a
first location in the building with a first alert and alerting
occupants in a second location of the building with a second alert,
the second alert being different than the first alert.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising varying the first and
second alerts as a function of a location of a display used to
display the alerts, the location of the hazard, and the location of
one or more of the occupants.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising alerting the occupants
to move away from the hazard depending on the location of the
occupants relative to the location of the hazard.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising re-directing the
occupants as a function of changes in the hazard.
6. The method of claim 4 further comprising re-directing the
occupants as a function of the occupants changing locations.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising alerting a hazardous
response entity to the location of the hazard and the
occupants.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising alerting the occupants
as a function of instructions received from the hazardous response
entity.
9. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing a graphical
representation having a layout of the building and the location of
the hazard and occupants to the response entity.
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising electronically
communicating the graphical representation to the response
entity.
11. A safety system for use in a building having a number of
occupants, the system comprising: a number of wireless devices
carried on occupants for use in locating the occupants; one or more
alarms within the building for sensing occurrence of one more
predefined safety related events; and a controller in communication
with the wireless devices and the one or more alarms, the
controller configured to automatically generate an evacuation
strategy to facilitate safely exiting the occupants from the
building, the evacuation strategy being determined at least in part
as a function of the location of the occupants and the alarms.
12. The system of claim 11 further comprising one or more displays
within the building to facilitate directing the occupants out of
the building in accordance with the evacuation strategy.
13. The system of claim 11 further comprising adjusting the
evacuation strategy according to instructions received from a
wireless device carried by an emergency response entity.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein the controller is configured to
adjust the evacuation strategy with movement of the occupants
throughout the building.
15. A safety system for use in a building having a number of
occupants, the system comprising: a number of wireless devices
carried on occupants for use in locating the occupants; and a
number of stationary nodes positioned throughout the building, the
nodes forming mesh network for communication with the wireless
devices, wherein each nodded is configured to automatically
generate an evacuation strategy to facilitate safely exiting the
occupants from the building, the evacuation strategy being
determined at least in part as a function of the location of the
occupants.
16. The system of claim 15 wherein a portion of the nodes are
assigned to direct evacuation of the portion of the occupants, and
wherein if the one of the nodes fail, one or more of the others
nodes is assigned to evacuate the occupants associated with the
failed node.
17. The system of claim 15 wherein at least one of the nodes is an
emergency response node configured to communicate with an emergency
response entity.
18. The system of claim 17 wherein the emergency response node is
configured to communicate occupant locations to the emergency
response entity.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein the emergency response entity
includes a hand-held locating device to facilitate locating the
occupants.
20. The system of claim 15 further comprising a number of displays
within the building, the node being configured to control the
displays to facilitate evacuating the occupants.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional
application Ser. No. 60/774,815 filed Feb. 17, 2006, the disclosure
of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to safely warning building
occupants of hazards within a building or other dwelling.
[0004] 2. Background Art
[0005] In the case of emergency (Fire, tornado etc) in a building
or other dwelling, conventional evacuation and hazard protection
strategies rely on emergency authority (Fire Brigade, Police etc)
to check each and every floor and to direct the personnel to come
out of the building in the case of emergency situation. This
approach has experienced limited success for safe and effective
evacuation operation. A better mechanism or process is needed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The present invention is pointed out with particularity in
the appended claims. However, other features of the present
invention will become more apparent and the present invention will
be best understood by referring to the following detailed
description in conjunction with the accompany drawings in
which:
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a building safe warn system in accordance
with one non-limiting aspect of the present invention; and
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method for alerting
building occupants in accordance with one non-limiting aspect of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a building safe warn system 10 in
accordance with one non-limiting aspect of the present invention.
The system 10 generally provides a method to facilitate evacuating,
instructing, or otherwise communicating with building occupants
during an emergency or other event in a building 12. FIG. 1 is
shown with respect to a single floor in the building 12 for
exemplary purposes. The present invention, however, is not so
limited and fully contemplates emergency assistance in buildings
having multiple floors and coordinating activities across the
various floors.
[0010] The system 10 may include a number of stationary nodes 16-28
and mobile nodes 36-48. The nodes 16-48 may include enhanced
capabilities, such as to facilitate processing data and
bi-directional wireless or wireline communication, and/or limited
capabilities, such as RF tags having capabilities to communicate
limited amounts of information. Optionally, the stationary nodes
16-28 may be fixed to locations within the building 12 and the RF
tags 36-48 may be carried on the person of the occupants. The RF
tags 36-48 may communicate with the stationary nodes 16-28 to
facilitate locating the occupants. The stationary nodes 16-28 may
process this information with emergency alerts and other data to
direct the occupants during an emergency. A number of signs or
other displays 56-70 may be located throughout the building 12 and
controlled to facilitate directing the occupants.
[0011] Each human (mobile) node 36-48 may be a smart ID card which
can serve dual purpose as a building access card and moving node
identification. This ID card may be of low cost and small in size
having RF trans-receivers. It may operate with paper alkaline
battery that will last long without maintenance for more than a
year.
[0012] All the floors of the building 12 may be equipped with some
fixed nodes or stationary nodes 16-48. The stationary nodes 16-28
may have the capability of communicating with each other using
wireless technologies. Chosen wireless technologies may support
mechanism to have more than one communication path (direct or using
multiple hops) between any two stationary nodes. More than one
floor may be severely affected during emergency and all stationary
nodes 16-28 in that floor may become non-functional such that nodes
may be able to communicate wirelessly with stationary nodes located
2-3 floors above/below.
[0013] Each floor may include various audio/visual indicators 56-70
that can be wirelessly controlled by a stationary node 16-28.
During emergency, a predefined trigger is sent to all stationary
nodes 16-28 to alert the stationary nodes 16-28 about the
emergency. Stationary nodes 16-28 may then communicate with all the
human nodes in its range of communication. Each stationary node
16-28 gathers the information about human node's ID and health
related information in its close sphere of communication (using
RF). This information may be shared with other stationary nodes
16-28 using wireless technology.
[0014] Each stationary node 16-28 may store some information about
floor geometries, location of audio/visual indicators and exit
routes. These layout related data and human node density
distribution assists the stationary nodes to compute an optimal
safe exit path for each floor. Stationary nodes 16-28 then
communicate with the audio-visual signals to show appropriate
symbols or play appropriate pre-recorded audible prompts. These
audio visual signals are meant for safe evacuation of the human
nodes from the building.
[0015] The wireless network of stationary nodes (also referred to
as Wireless mesh) 16-28 inside the building may be connected to
emergency node (Fire Brigade, Police car etc) located outside the
building using a wireless technology. This emergency node may also
have one rugged display panel. Emergency authority (Fireman) will
be able to see the human node density distribution on each floor of
the building in the display unit. This emergency node also may have
access to the building's layout and exit sign locations etc. Human
node density's distribution and building geometry related data may
be collated together to show the actual movement of people inside
the building. Emergency personnel can zoom in on any specific area
of the floor and check the human node situation. Based on viewed
data some stationary nodes can be advised to actuate audio-video
signals for evacuation of human nodes roaming around in specific
area.
[0016] Each emergency person (fireman, police staff etc) entering
inside the building may be provided with a small palm-top type
handheld rugged display and processing element (not shown). This
display may be able to communicate with the stationary nodes of the
floor over RF link. Fireman can then select certain section of the
floor and check for human node densities or a particular node
there. Since each human node also carries a health related
information of the person, this information can appear as colored
dots in the display panel. It can help the fireman to accord more
priority to evacuate physically incapacitated persons in emergency
situation.
[0017] Each floor of the building 12 may be equipped with an exit
display panel at suitable locations in the floor. This panel can
include a floor map, such as but not limited to the map shown in
FIG. 1. It can be used for showing all the exit signs of the floor
and directions of movement relative thereto. In the case of
emergency human node can see the safe exit rout on this panel for a
given floor, such as with LEDs mounted on the exit routs.
Combination of LEDs will blink to indicate the safest possible exit
route, quickest exit route, least congested route, etc. This exit
rout related information can come from the nearest stationary node
on wireless connection to the exit display panel.
[0018] The system 10 may include a central controller (not shown)
for directing the stationary nodes and/or the nodes 16-48
themselves may include capabilities for executing intelligent
algorithms to safely direct and manage an evacuations during
emergency. In this manner, the nodes 16-48 can be directed from the
central controller and/or if the central controller is lost or
otherwise unavailable, the nodes can self-direct the operations.
Optionally, the nodes 16-48 on each floor may direct operations
with respect to that floor and if a node is lost other nodes 16-48
on the same of different floor may provide redundancy and execute
the operations for the lost node 16-48.
[0019] The nodes 16-48 may include capabilities for storing special
building characteristics, such as the weak sections (structurally),
the weak trusses etc. in order to know and predict the sections or
parts of the building that will collapse first during an emergency.
The data can be sent to a responding fire truck to help emergency
authorities plan an evacuation taking into consideration vital
information about building characteristics. This information may
also be used by the nodes when automatically generate the initial
evacuation strategy to predict emergency management as a function
of the building characteristics. e.g. having data for a particular
zone or floor that stores inflammable material, (to indicate that
this section is highly susceptible to fire). The evacuation system
software may have special algorithms to detect the emergency in and
around these highly critical zones and plan the evacuation.
[0020] The evacuation system 10 may have a feature for temperature
monitoring. The evacuation system can periodically monitor the
temperature data of the zones in the building. It can store
temperature profiles for these zones in its database. Whenever the
evacuation system finds a drastic change in a particular
temperature profile or has a gradual upward trend, it can trigger a
warning and use audio-visual indicators to alert the emergency
entities about the abnormal conditions. The nodes 16-48 can include
algorithm to determine and/or the nodes 16-48 can be instructed by
the responding entity to provide response to emergency events and
routing of the moving node (occupants) traffic in the safest way
during emergency evacuation procedures by providing audio and
visual alerts. The nodes 16-48 may include a disaster action plan
which shall guide all the moving nodes during evacuation, which may
consider various factors such as moving node density at particular
exit point, distance of the exit doors from the moving nodes
etc.
[0021] The stationary nodes 16-28 may be scattered throughout the
building at strategic locations to track the moving nodes and
assist them in evacuation during an emergency. The stationary nodes
16-28 may act as a RFID Reader/Scanner and/or a wireless
transmitter/receiver. During normal mode of operation the
stationary nodes may act as a standby unit waiting for a trigger.
During this time these nodes c16-28 an transmit their status or
`heartbeats` to other nodes. Whenever system is triggered by any
emergencies, the stationary nodes can switch from the `Alert` state
to the `Emergency` state and start monitoring the human nodes.
[0022] The stationary nodes 16-28 in the hazard area can propagate
the hazard information to the nearby nodes in a chain manner. The
nodes 16-48 may have unique IP address, which can be easily
configured and changed whenever, required. With this unique IP
address it can be possible to remotely talk with a particular node
for an upgrade to the firmware or diagnostics.
[0023] During normal mode of operation the stationary RFID nodes
16-28 may be placed in the `Alert` mode and may not track any
moving nodes. During normal mode of operation, they may only
respond to pinging message from the command and control unit from
other stationary nodes. The stationary nodes 16-28 may then
transition to the `Emergency` mode and then locate, track and
report the human node status and also attempt to direct the
evacuation. The stationary nodes 16-28 can transfer information and
exchanging real-time data for aiding decision-making.
[0024] Exit signs may be located near the stairwell or the
elevators. The signs may be configured for indicating the direction
towards the exit, work as a radio beacon or a RFID/RF station that
can monitor the human nodes to report the density, the location and
the movement of the human nodes, monitor stairwell conditions,
elevator conditions, lobby conditions etc. and report the same to
the nodes for better planning of the evacuation, and/or the signs
can be modified to direct the evacuation as per the commands
received from other nodes unit by using Audio/Visual signs.
[0025] Emergency intercom phones may be installed in the zones to
help communicate with a command/control center to help fine-tune
the evacuation. These phones can also serve as a RFID
scanner/reader or a wireless receiver. Video surveillance cameras
can be used for visual identification and tracking of human nodes
during emergency situations. These cameras may be fireproof and
have suitable power back up to assist evacuation, as well as
abilities to communicate with command and control unit by means of
wireless or wired communication. IP cameras can also be used for
visual identification and tracking of human nodes during emergency
situations. The IP cameras can be directly connected to the network
and can be accessed by IP address. Smoke detectors can also serve
the purpose of a RFID Scanner/Reader or a wireless
transmitter/receiver. The smoke detectors may have an independent
power back up in case of power failure.
[0026] During emergency situation emergency authorities such as
Fire Marshals, Security persons can use two-way hands free wireless
communication devices. These devices enable instant two-way voice
conversation without the need to remember a phone number or
manipulate a handset. These wireless communication devices are
controlled with naturally spoken commands. With the help of theses
devices, emergency authorities can communicate with each other
effectively to carry out the evacuation.
[0027] A command and control unit or authorized node may designated
to communicate with all the moving nodes (Human nodes) and
stationary nodes 16-28. It may processes all the data related to
human nodes received from stationary nodes, the emergency zones and
other related information and may direct the evacuation. The
command and control unit may have abilities to provide 3D pictorial
representation of complete building structure including rooms,
lobbies, passages and staircases on an emergency proof video
display unit. During emergency, this unit may display the current
location of every human node in a zone as received by the
stationary node in that zone. The Unit shall also be able to
identify the human node, the node density, the level or the
intensity of the hazard in that zone to help plan the
evacuation.
[0028] Modern buildings have several control systems built-in to
ensure a proper functioning of the building. These control systems
could be the Building management systems, the elevator systems, the
HVAC systems, the communication systems etc. The communication
systems, in this case may include several different networks that
operate independently to carry host of sensor information to
control systems. Information form these system can be obtained and
communicated on a real-time basis en-route to the scene of
incidence through wireless technology and also with the fire/rescue
departments. The system may be designed with the capability of
communicating this wealth of valuable information during an
emergency out of the building and to the emergency entity, which
could be a wireless docking station with a visual display unit or a
mini-evacuation system within the fire-truck or the ambulance.
[0029] During the emergency situations the stationary nodes 16-28
may start monitoring the human nodes 36-48. The firmware for these
stationary nodes (RFID readers) 16-28 may have smart algorithms to
search which are the neighboring nodes within its vicinity, which
are the nearby safe exit routes available, to which of the
neighboring nodes 16-48 it should propagate the hazard situations,
for which of the neighboring nodes it should act as a backup in
case they fails etc. By way of using these smart algorithms
stationary nodes 16-28 may be able to decide which will be the
safest and optimal exit path for the people trapped in the
emergency. These nodes 16-28 can then guide the people in the
building for evacuation based on these smart algorithms by means of
Audio/Visual indicators.
[0030] An in-vehicle PC may be installed in the vehicles such as
fire truck or ambulance, which can aid rescue team in carrying out
evacuation. When the vehicle is within a range of around 500 meters
from the building the Fire marshals can start communicating with
the evacuation system components in the building and get the real
time information about the evacuation status. The in-vehicle PC
should be equipped with all the 3-D pictorial representation of the
building floor plans which will guide the rescue persons for the
real time tracking of the moving nodes 36-48 in the affected areas
and support wireless communication.
[0031] A geographic information system computer-based tool may be
used for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that
happen. In the system it may show the real time movement of the
human nodes 36-48 present in the building, the hazard location, the
status of various stationary nodes 16-28 etc. This should show 3D
pictorial representation of the building schematics with real time
movement of human nodes in the building. GIS technology may
integrate database operations such as query and statistical
analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis
benefits offered by maps. Because of these abilities with the help
of GIS, it becomes vary easy for explaining events, predicting
outcomes, decision making, planning strategies and co-ordination
during an emergency situation.
[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart 80 of a method for alerting
building occupants in accordance with one non-limiting aspect of
the present invention. The method may be embodied and/or partial
executed through operations stored in a computer-readable medium or
other logically processing element, such as but not limited to one
of the above-described nodes. The method may be used with any type
of building or dwelling to alert occupants to any number of
conditions within the building.
[0033] Block 82 relates to locating a hazard or other condition
within the building. The hazard may be automatically located as a
function of signals received from one or more alarms or other
detection devices. These devices may be configured to broadcast or
otherwise transmit signals associated with the hazard to one or
more nodes provided throughout the building. The nodes may be
wireless connected to each other in order to facilitate
distributing the alarm throughout the building.
[0034] Block 84 relates to locating building occupants in response
to the hazard. The occupants may be located according to any
suitable locating process, including the occupants as a function of
the location of the wireless RF tags carried on the occupants
relative to the nodes. Each node may be assigned to monitor or
otherwise keep track of occupants within a particular portion of
the building. The nodes may have redundancy whereby one node may be
assigned to track occupants in another portion of the building
should one the primary tracking node fail.
[0035] Block 86 relates to warning the building occupants. The
warning may include displaying information on one or more displays
located throughout the building. The displays be in communication
with the nodes such that the nodes command the displays to show
particular information. The information may be selected as function
of the hazard and the location of building occupants with respect
to the same. Different displays may display different information
depending on the location of the display with respect to the hazard
and desired movement of the occupants with respect to the
display.
[0036] Optionally, the displayed information may correspond with an
evacuation strategy automatically determined by the nodes based on
the hazard and occupant locations. The evacuation strategy may
provide a means for directing the occupants to safely evacuate the
building, such as according to a safest or fastest route, and/or it
may instruct the occupants to take other action, such as applying
gas masks or taking shelter. The strategy may vary from one
building location to another.
[0037] Block 88 relates to warning an emergency response entity to
the location of the hazard, including information regarding its
scope, type, etc., and/or the location of the occupants. This
information may be electronically communicated to the response
entity such that a layout of the building may be shown to the
responders with an illustration of the hazard and occupant
locations. The responders may include handheld devices to
facilitate locating occupants while moving throughout the
building.
[0038] Block 90 relates to determining status changes. The status
change may relate to changes in the progress of the hazard, such as
a fire spreading throughout the building, change in the occupant
locations, such as with movement of occupants as they attempt to
evacuate the building, and/or changes in evacuation strategy as
specified by the response entity. If no significant changes have
occurred, Block is returned to the current warnings and display
information may be maintained.
[0039] If significant changes has occurred, Block 92 may be reached
and the displayed information may be changed. The information may
be changed to reflect any number of changes in condition and/or
evacuation strategy, such as re-directing occupants away from a
congested exit or change in the hazard and/or re-directing
occupants according to a new evacuation strategy from the response
entity.
[0040] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention
are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the
disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that
may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are
not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated or
minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore,
specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not
to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis
for the claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one
skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
[0041] While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and
described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and
describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words
used in the specification are words of description rather than
limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *